SNP set to take top slot in a 'very bad day' for Labour in Europe

Published on Thursday 4 June 2009 22:03

LABOUR'S senior Scottish Euro MP warned that his party is in for a "very bad day" when the European election results are announced.

David Martin, one of two Scots Labour MEPs seeking re- election, admitted his party could be overtaken by the SNP in Scotland and might end up with ten seats or fewer across the whole of the UK.

His comments reflected the general pessimism within the party that the expenses scandal, combined with disillusionment after 12 years of government, would see the party punished by the electorate.

Polling stations opened at 7am yesterday and closed at 10pm. Early indications suggested that turnout was low – even below the 31 per cent recorded in 2004 – a factor that could benefit smaller parties such as UKip.

Mr Martin said the election was "very difficult" to predict and Labour might suffer disproportionately from the Westminster expenses row as the party of government. The mood on the doorstep was for disenchanted Labour voters to stay at home, rather than switch to another party, he said.

"Labour voters are saying, 'Yes, I'm normally Labour, I will be Labour again, but I don't know if I'm going to vote on Thursday'," he said. "My prediction is that the SNP probably will come out with the largest share of the vote because Labour voters have stayed at home."

Of UK-wide situation, he said: "From speaking to colleagues south of the Border, I think it's going to be a very bad day for Labour on Sunday. We could be down as low as ten or 11 seats in England, perhaps 14 overall in the UK – we are currently 19."

In Glasgow only 4 per cent of people had cast their votes by lunchtime, although the figure did not include postal votes.

A council spokesman said: "It would be fair to say that voting has not been particularly brisk."

With Scotland's tally of Euro seats falling from seven to six, the campaign was already destined to be a game of political musical chairs even before the row over Westminster MPs' expenses. Labour is fighting to keep first place in the share of the popular vote in Scotland, while the SNP is determined to eject it from that slot.

A total of 72 candidates are vying to become Scotland's Euro MPs, and the final outcome will not be known until Monday, when the Western Isles result is announced. The Greens say a poll commissioned by the party puts them third on 18 per cent, behind Labour at 22 per cent and the SNP on 29 per cent.

In Edinburgh 322,000 were eligible to vote and 172 polling stations were open. Voting was described as "slow".

John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said the European election campaign had been "completely overshadowed by national politics. There hasn't been a campaign.

"People don't see the point in voting because they don't see the link between the election and what comes out in policy."